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The Lord of the Coast is fairly small in size compared to other Sea Kings.[5] However, he is still large enough to swallow a full-grown man whole.

His appearance is similar to a large oversized brown eel with red eyes and blue fins. These eyes become bloodshot and the pupils turn catlike when it goes into a berserk frenzy, a trait shared in the fish-manArlong.

The Lord of the Coast is very aggressive and fierce in nature. In the creature classification, he's considered even more savage than a typical Sea King.[4] However, he still possesses enough survival instinct to fear displays of power such as Shanks'angry glare.

He was first seen when he ate Higuma, who was in a small rowboat, shortly after Higuma threw Luffy into the water. He then tries to eat Luffy, failing to do so and instead just managing to bite off Shanks' left arm. He is scared away then by Shanks, who stares him down using his Haoshoku Haki.[6]

Ten years later, when Luffy left Foosha Village to start his journey as a pirate, the Lord of the Coast tried to eat him again, and was promptly knocked out with a Gomu Gomu no Pistol.[6]

Initially, the anime skipped Luffy's "rematch" with the Lord of the Coast, as Luffy's past was consigned to a flashback that was somewhat shorter than the corresponding manga chapter.[7] However, the scene was adapted into both the anime's first opening and One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!'s opening cinematic.

The scene was finally adapted into the anime proper in Episode 504, when the rest of Luffy's backstory was revealed. Luffy's stance in the episode is closer to the manga than in the opening, with his foot sticking up and his left arm holding his right, whereas the opening has his foot on the edge of the boat and his left arm pulled back.

The Viz manga does not treat 近海の主 (Kinkai no nushi,近海の主?) as a name or epithet, instead translating it as "our local sea monster"; the Funimation simulcast of the anime follows this convention. It was not until the English localization of One Piece: Treasure Cruise that the creature was given an official English name, Master of the Near Sea.

The Lord of the Coast was the first Sea King to be featured in the series. It is also the first Sea King to appear outside of the Grand Line.

In some older fan translations, he is identified as a "shark" rather than a Sea King (possibly in conflation with Romance Dawn V.1, where his role was served by an ordinary shark). It should be noted that the term "Sea King" was not introduced until Chapter 101.